Read More

An extra £2.8 billion for NHS England – short of the £4 billion requested by its chief executive Simon Stevens, and with no extra funding for social care;

The creation of a £1.7 billion Transforming Cities Fund to improve transport infrastructure. Half of this will go to the new ‘metro mayors’, but cities such as Stoke-on-Trent will be able to bid for the remainder;

Councils will be given the power to charge a 100 per cent council tax premium on empty properties;

The planned cut to business rates rises will be brought forward to April, which Mr Hammond said would be worth £2.3 billion to businesses;

An extra £3 billion will set aside for Brexit preparations over the next two years.

Despite Mr Hammond’s insistence that the Budget would ‘build on the strengths of the British economy’, his speech started on a pessimistic note, with GDP growth forecasts downgraded significantly since March.

Mr Hammond said: “In this Budget I have set out a vision for Britain’s future, and our plan for delivering it.

Read More

“By getting our debt down. By supporting British families and businesses. By investing in the technologies and the skills of the future. By creating the homes and the infrastructure our country needs.”

While the stamp duty change is aimed at helping young people get on the property ladder, the Office for Budget Responsibility said it would only actually lead to 3,500 extra sales.

Stamp duty will be abolished on all first time buyer purchases up to £300,000

Stoke-on-Trent North MP Ruth Smeeth, supported the changes to Universal Credit, but said the Budget failed to address many problems.

She said: “This Chancellor did his best to lower people’s expectations in the lead up to the budget, and it’s easy to see why. This was thin gruel from a failing Tory government.

“I do welcome any additional funding for our cash-strapped health service, but the £2.8 billion Phillip Hammond promised today falls well short of the £4 billion that the NHS has said that we need. This is a sticking plaster not a cure.

Read More

Lauren Darby, BCC safety, health and environment director, said: “The continued focus of the Government on finding solutions to address housing affordability and availability will be well received by many of our members.

“However, more needs to be done to provide a supportive regulatory framework to make sure that UK construction product manufacturers have the confidence to invest in extra production capacity and are able to contribute to their full potential.”

Staffordshire County Council leader Philip Atkins said that while the Budget contained 'good news', it would take time to find out what the announcements would really mean for the authority and local people.

He welcomed measures aimed at improving skills, and the extra funding for the NHS, but noted that the Budget contained no new funding for the country's under-pressure social care system.

Mr Atkins said: “Here in Staffordshire, we are committed to creating the right conditions to grow the economy and create not only more jobs, but more well-paid, better skilled jobs to boost productivity, so it was good to see this echoed in the Chancellor’s speech today.

Read More

“It was also good to see the need to invest in maths, computing and digital skills and re-training at the ground level to ensure people in places like Staffordshire can benefit from these jobs as they are created.

“While extra funding for the NHS this winter is welcome for Staffordshire, for county councils in particular, the funding challenges and pressures on adult social care remain enormous and a long-term solution on how this is funded still needs to be fully addressed nationally."

David Frost CBE, chairman of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership

David Frost, chairman of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, was pleased with measures such as increasing the Research & Development tax credit to 12 per cent.

He said: “Clearly there was a difficult backdrop in terms of public finances, but I think there are some very good measures in the Budget.

“Things like the R&D tax credit shows that ministers are looking ahead to Brexit, while the National Productivity Investment Fund demonstrates that they understand the need to improve skills.”